Joe Jackson began his professional baseball career in 1908
with the Philadelphia Athletics organization. For his first
two years Jackson was up and down between the minor and the
major leagues, playing only ten games with the Athletics.
Becoming increasingly unhappy Jackson was traded to the Cleveland
Naps in 1911 where he played his first full season. The Cleveland
organization would eventually be called the Indians in 1915.
That year Jackson compiled a .408 batting average, a record
that still stands for rookie seasons. Coming into the prime
of his career Jackson batted .395 and led the American League
in triples in 1912. The next year Jackson led the league with
197 hits and .551 slugging average.

In August of 1915 Jackson was traded to the Chicago White
Sox. Even with his new surroundings his tremendous career
continued. In 1917 Jackson and the White Sox accomplished
the greatest feat in all of baseball, a World Series title.
During the series Jackson batted .307 and led the White Sox
to victory over the New York Giants.

In 1919, Jackson and the White Sox found themselves back in
the running for another World Series ring. Jackson batted
.351 during the regular season and .375 with perfect fielding
in the World Series. The heavily favored Sox found themselves
in a losing battle against the Cincinnati Reds. During the
next year while batting .385 and leading the American league
in triples Jackson was suspended after allegations that 8
members of the White Sox threw the previous World Series.
In 1921 A Chicago jury acquitted Jackson of helping to fix
the 1919 World Series, but Kenesaw Mountain Landis, the first
commissioner of Baseball went against the ruling and banned
all eight players including Joe Jackson from baseball for
life.